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Count Paris
Count Paris (or County Paris) is a fictional character in w:William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He is a suitor of Juliet Capulet. He is handsome, wealthy, and a kinsman to Prince Escalus. Sources Luigi da Porto adapted the story as Giulietta e Romeo and included it in his Historia novellamente ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti published in 1530.Moore (1937: 38–44). Da Porto drew on Pyramus and Thisbe and Boccacio's Decameron. He gave it much of its modern form, including the lovers' names, the rival Montecchi and Capuleti families, and the location in Verona.Hosley (1965: 168). He also introduces characters corresponding to Shakespeare's Mercutio, Tybalt, and Paris. Da Porto presents his tale as historically true and claims it took place in the days of Bartolomeo II della Scala (a century earlier than Salernitano). Montecchi and Capuleti were actual 13th-century political factions, but the only connection between them is a mention in Dante's Purgatorio as an example of civil dissention.Moore (1930: 264–277) Role in the Play Paris makes his first appearance in Act I, Scene II, wherein he offers to make Juliet his wife and the mother of his children. Juliet's father, Lord Capulet, demurs, telling him to wait until she is older. Capulet invites Paris to attend a family ball being held that evening, and grants permission to woo Juliet. Later in the play, however, Juliet refuses to become Paris' "joyful bride" after her cousin, Tybalt, dies by her new husband Romeo's hand, proclaiming for the first time that she now despises Paris and wants nothing to do with him. Capulet violently threatens to disown disowned and then make Juliet a lowly street urchin if she does not marry Paris, hitting his daughter, shoving her to the ground, and screaming in her face. Juliet's mother, too, turns her back on Juliet shortly after Lord Capulet storms out of the scene ("Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word; do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee"), as does the Nurse. Then, while at Friar Lawrence's cell at the church, Paris tries to woo Juliet by repeatedly saying she is his wife and they are to be married on Thursday. He kisses her and then leaves the cell, prompting Juliet to threaten to kill herself. Paris' final appearance in the play is in the cemetery where Juliet, who is feigning death, is "laid to rest" in the Capulet family tomb. Believing her to be dead, Paris has come to mourn her in solitude and privacy and sends his manservant away. He professes his love to Juliet, saying he will nightly weep for her. Act V, Scene III Shortly thereafter, Romeo, deranged by grief himself, also goes to the Capulet's tomb and is confronted by Count Paris, who believes Romeo came to desecrate Juliet's tomb. They duel until Romeo wins and kills Paris. Romeo drags Paris' body inside the Capulet tomb and lays him out on the floor beside Juliet's body, fulfilling Paris' final, dying wish. Historical Context The earliest versions of the text (First Quarto, Second Quarto and First Folio) all call him "Countie Paris". Some versions of the text call him "County Paris". Grey lists ten scenes where "County" is used, but a wordcount using Kindle results in a total of nineteen individual deployments "County" was in common usage at the time of writing, and Shakespeare's choice was dictated by the needs of the metre. As a father, the chief role Capulet plays in Juliet's life is that of matchmaker. He has raised and cared for Juliet for nearly fourteen years, but he must find a suitable husband who will care for her for the remainder of her life. Juliet, as a young woman and as an aristocrat in general, cannot support herself in the society of her day, her only available career choices are either wife or nun. Thus it falls upon her father and her husband to support her. Count Paris would be an excellent match for Juliet. He, too, is an aristocrat and of a higher social order. He is a well-established and wealthy business/government person who could support and provide for Juliet rather well. He is also, most probably, well connected politically, making him a good family contact for Lord and Lady Capulet. This probably means that he is quite mature being at least twenty-five years old, while Juliet has not yet turned fourteen. Nevertheless, within the historical context of the play, there is nothing peculiar in their age difference. Though the typical age of marriage for Italian men in this period was 29 and women was about 25, for the higher class, including the aristocracy and wealthy merchant class, arranged marriages were common during the teenage years. Analysis Although Paris is not as developed as other characters in the play, he stands as a complication in the development of Romeo and Juliet's relationship. His love of Juliet stands as a counterpoint to Romeo's impetuous love. In Act V, Scene III, Paris visits the crypt to quietly and privately mourn the loss of his would-be fiancée. Romeo eventually kills him during a swordfight in the same scene, and his dying wish is for Romeo to lay him next to Juliet, which Romeo does. This scene is often omitted from modern stage and screen performances as it complicates what would otherwise be a simple love story between the title characters. Shakespeare also uses sub-plots to offer a clearer view of the main characters' actions. For example, when the play begins, Romeo is in love with Rosaline, who has refused all of his advances. Romeo's infatuation with Rosaline quickly disavowal of her upon seeing Juliet serve to highlight the flightiness of Romeo's romantic interests. In a similar fashion, Paris' love for Juliet serves as a counterpoint to Romeo's love for her. Paris can support her and care for and about her in a mature fashion, while Romeo is but a love struck adolescent with no real job or means of supporting his new wife. Meanwhile, Juliet clearly cares more for Romeo, as shown by the formal language she uses around Paris as well as the way she talks about him to her Nurse. Beyond this, the sub-plot of the Montague–Capulet feud overarches the whole play, providing an atmosphere of hate that is the main contributor to the play's tragic end.Halio (1998: 20–30). Men often used Petrarchan sonnets to exaggerate the beauty of women who were impossible for them to attain, as in Romeo's situation with Rosaline. Lady Capulet uses this sonnet form to describe Count Paris to Juliet as a handsome man.Halio (1998: 47–48). When Romeo and Juliet meet, the poetic form changes from the Petrarchan (which was becoming archaic in Shakespeare's day) to a then more contemporary sonnet form, using "pilgrims" and "saints" as metaphors.Halio (1998: 48–49). Finally, when the two meet on the balcony, Romeo attempts to use the sonnet form to pledge his love, but Juliet breaks it by saying, "Dost thou love me?"Romeo and Juliet, II.ii.90. By doing this, she searches for true expression, rather than a poetic exaggeration of their love.Halio (1998: 49–50). Juliet uses monosyllabic words with Romeo, but uses formal language with Paris.Levin (1960: 3–11). Other forms in the play include an epithalamium by Juliet, a rhapsody in Mercutio's Queen Mab speech, and an elegy by Paris.Halio (1998: 51–52). {Ocn|date=May Performances A mock-Victorian revisionist version of Romeo and Juliet's final scene forms part of the 1980 stage-play The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. This version has a happy ending: Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio and Paris are restored to life, and Benvolio reveals he is Paris' love, Benvolia, in disguise. Edgar (1982: 162). In Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, the character is named "Dave Paris" and is played by Paul Rudd. His familial relationship with Escalus (called "Captain Escalus Prince|") is removed entirely from the film, and Dave Paris is not stated as being a nobleman; he is rather a wealthy business magnate and a governor's son. References Bibliography * * * * * * External links *''The Four Leaves of the Truelove'' - Rossell Hope Robbins Library, Medieval collection.